I: 100th anniversary of ‘Zeppelin’ air attack on Edinburgh – A school student walks among the wreckage

A STORY FROM THE DIARY OF 15-YEAR OLD ARCHIBALD H CAMPBELL (1902-1918) WHO WOULD LATER BECOME REGIUS PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC LAW AND THE LAW OF NATURE AND THE NATIONS, EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY, 1945-1972

Over the next couple of days, and almost 100-years to the day since the first ever air assault on Leith and Edinburgh by Zeppelins of the Imperial German Naval Airship Service, our blog describes the event – on 2-3 April 1916 – as told by the diary of the young teenager Archibald Campbell, and also through interpretation of historical papers of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh curated by the Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA).

Firstly… Archibald Campbell’s story…:

Airship - similar to Zeppelin L14 of the Imperial German Naval Airship Service which brought most of the damage to Edinburgh from the air in April 1916. In addition to Edinburgh, many other places on Great Britain suffered from Zeppelin raids including Kings Lynn, Gt. Yarmouth, Hull, Tyneside, Gravesend, the Midlands, London and the Home Counties. From January 1915 to end-May 1916 at least 550 British civilians had been killed (Creative Commons image).

Airship – similar to Zeppelin L14 of the Imperial German Naval Airship Service which brought most of the damage to Edinburgh from the air in April 1916. In addition to Edinburgh, many other places on Great Britain suffered from Zeppelin raids including Kings Lynn, Gt. Yarmouth, Hull, Tyneside, Gravesend, the Midlands, London and the Home Counties. From January 1915 to end-May 1916 at least 550 British civilians had been killed (Creative Commons image).

Archibald Hunter Campbell was born 21 May 1902 in Edinburgh. He was educated at George Watson’s College in the city, at Edinburgh University, and then at University College, Oxford.

The cover of the school-boy diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell (Coll-221).

The cover of the school-boy diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell (Coll-221).

While still at school, aged 13 years, Campbell witnessed the aftermath of this first ever air attack on the city, and on Scotland as a whole, when the airships – the Zeppelins – dropped ordnance on 2-3  April 1916.

Campbell aged 13 in April 1916 had written extensive notes about the Zeppelin attack on a separate piece of paper inserted into his diary, noting that his description was 'On paper' (Coll-221).

Campbell aged 13 in April 1916 had written extensive notes about the Zeppelin attack on a separate piece of paper inserted into his diary, noting that his description of the aftermath was ‘On paper’ (Coll-221).

The naval base at Rosyth in Fife and the Forth Bridge had been the focus of an attack composed of four Zeppelins but in the event only two craft reached the Scottish coast – L14 commanded by Kapitänleutnant der Reserve Alois Böcker, and L22 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Martin Dietrich. At 9.30pm on Sunday 2 April 1916 the military gave the order for the city to take air raid action, and road traffic ground to a halt, street lighting was lowered, and civilians were advised to take refuge.

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Leith Docks were attacked round about 11:30pm, and then the German airship crew plotted a course along the Water of Leith towards the city of Edinburgh. Just after midnight the young Campbell was awakened by the sound of bombs. He went down to the parlour where he waited until 1.10am on the morning of Monday 3 April and from the window he ‘saw blaze over Leith’. He then went to bed before rising again at 7.30am to get ready for school – George Watson’s. However he heard that a ‘bomb had fallen in front of school & smashed it up’. When he got to school he ‘mucked about’ in the bomb hole in the playground until he was ‘turned out’ of it.

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

At noon when he got out of school he ‘went round to see bomb hole’ again. Every window in front of the school was ‘smashed’. The crater was ‘about 4′ 6” across right up against Ethel Davidson’s room which was absolutely smashed’ (the crater was just over a meter wide). He went on…:

Desks, window-frames, broken glass, stones, and piles of plaster, all smashed up, filled the room. Other front rooms about as bad.

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

After picking up a bit of bomb for himself and a bit for Main, a friend, he walked with Ashcroft – presumably another school friend – across to Grassmarket where more damage had been reported. On the way they witnessed the ‘effects’ of the ‘Lauriston bomb’…:
 All windows smashed & street carpeted with broken glass. Bomb had landed through roof of a house.
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

They continued towards the Vennel and then down ‘to Grassmarket which was awfully crowded’. There the pavement was barred against public access and there was a ‘deep hole in front of the White Hart Hotel, whose walls were all scarred’.
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

A walk along King’s Stables Road followed, and ‘smashed windows’ were seen in Castle Terrace. Walking through Princes Street Gardens they  were able to see ‘effect of bomb on Castle Rock’…:
It had missed the Castle by a few feet, hit the rock & brought down a small land slide.
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Along Lothian Road, they passed the County Hotel where every window was ‘smashed’.
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Later on, when his mother had gone down to Leamington Terrace to see an uncle, Campbell ‘got a car’ (a tram) down to Leith Walk where he met his father and several teachers, and…:

Showed my bit of bomb & told them that Watson’s was still standing.

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Again he walked up Castle Terrace, this time with his mother and father, and…:
Saw all smashed windows & other effects of Castle bomb. Looked down into King’s Stables Road which was absolutely black with people.
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

The family took a tram home and Campbell noted how public transport – ‘cars’ or trams – and the streets were ‘awfully crowded’.
During that day, meandering across the city, looking at the destruction caused by the bombs, Campbell had his camera with him (it appears). After tea, he developed the film, but… unfortunately…:
Owing to crumpling up of wire and that beastly developing box only one […] came out decently & even it was spotted.
…and the one surviving photograph had been simply of him in the garden!
Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Descriptive notes from the diary kept by Archibald H. Campbell and telling the story of the Zeppelin attack (Coll-221).

Although Campbell noted that ten people had been killed, modern reports tell of a total of thirteen deaths with a further twenty-four injured.The cost of the damage by the bombs, each no bigger than a sack of flour, amounted to roughly £12m in today’s money.
ccZeppelin L45 L13 P-class_v2Nearly all of the damage had been caused by devices dropped from Zeppelin L14. Zeppelin L22 ventured only briefly into the city and just caused minor damage after jettisoning most of its bombs in fields near Berwick-upon-Tweed. Later in the year, Alois Böcker was arrested by local policemen in Essex, England, in September 1916, when his Zeppelin (L33 on this occasion) was brought down by night fighters. Zeppelin L14 itself was destroyed by its crew on 23 June 1919 following the example of the naval scuttling in Scapa Flow.
ccZeppelin L45 L13 P-class_v2
 As for Archibald H. Campbell the teenager during the First World War… After his studies at Edinburgh and at Oxford, Campbell would become a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and in 1935 he was appointed Barber Professor of Jurisprudence at Birmingham University. In September 1939, and from the outbreak of the hostilities which became known as the Second World War he was summoned into service at Bletchley Park.

At Bletchley Park he was a Foreign Office Civilian (Temporary Senior Assistant Officer) and worked at the Mansion, Hut 10, Block A and Block F(A), Air Section, including advanced research in the Italian sub-section. There he decrypted non-Enigma signals from German, Italian and Japanese Air Forces and produced intelligence reports. He also worked at Hut 5 and Block F, Military Section, probably Japanese, involved in decrypting and reporting on non-Enigma enemy army ciphers. This  was also known as No 4 Intelligence School.

After the war he returned to Edinburgh and to the University’s Regius Chair of Public Law and the Law of Nature and the Nations which he held from 1945 to 1972. He was Dean of the Faculty of Law, 1958-64.

Professor Archibald Hunter Campbell died in Edinburgh 8 June 1989.

ccZeppelin L45 L13 P-class_v2

The diary with the separate page describing the damage across Edinburgh was ‘rediscovered’ in the A. H. Campbell material by one of our volunteers, Valentina Flex, Edinburgh University graduate, who had been creating a provisional listing of content.

A second blog post about the attack on Edinburgh 100-years ago – and from the curatorial staff of the LHSA – will go live in the next couple of days.

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

Notes…: In addition to the description of the events written by Archibald H. Campbell himself, freely accessible web-pages describing the events of 2-3 April 1916 (especially Scotland’s War ‘Midlothian’s War – Zeppelin raid over Edinburgh’) and a ‘Wikipedia’ list of Zeppelins, and also the website of the Bletchley Park Roll of Honour, were enlisted for the creation of this blog-post.

The image of the Zeppelin (here the P-class LZ45 ‘L13’) was obtained from Creative Commons.

The second story about the Zeppelin attack can be read here: II: Incendiary bombs and the Infirmary

Service of James Roland Rider – in the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC)

ILLUSTRATING SOME OF THE UNIVERSITY MEDALS OF JAMES ROLAND RIDER

Band1James Roland Rider was the son of a veterinary surgeon. He was born in Beamish, near Durham, in N.E.England, on 13 November 1894. He was educated at St. Bees, Cumbria, and at Newcastle Royal Grammar School.

Reverse of silver medal, Session 1913-1914, Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, Presented by O. Charnock Bradley M.D., D.Sc., Practical Anatomy, Gained by J.R.Rider, Session 1913-14

Reverse of silver medal, Session 1913-1914, Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, Presented by O. Charnock Bradley M.D., D.Sc., Practical Anatomy, Gained by J.R.Rider

In 1912 he went to Edinburgh to study at the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College but in 1914 the outbreak of war interrupted his studies. Rider enlisted in the Scots Greys and he served at Gallipoli.

Detail from obverse, silver medal, Session 1913-1914, decorated with lion with raised paw being treated by kneeling figure, framed by palm trees and cliff

Detail from obverse, silver medal, Session 1913-1914, decorated with lion with raised paw being treated by kneeling figure, framed by palm trees and cliff

Silver Medal - Practical Anatomy 1915-16 - Detail from 3

In 1916 he returned to the Dick Vet’, and the University medal-winning Rider graduated in 1917, becoming a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He then re-enlisted, serving as a Captain in the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC).

Obverse, silver medal, Obstetrics, Session 1917-18, Royal Dick Veterinary College, Edinburgh, decorated with armorial bearing of the City of Edinburgh and inscription NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA

Obverse, silver medal, Obstetrics, Session 1917-18, Royal Dick Veterinary College, Edinburgh, decorated with armorial bearing of the City of Edinburgh and inscription NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA

The AVC was responsible for the medical care of animals used by the army; predominantly horses, mules and pigeons. During the Great War, the Corps reorganised to provide a Mobile Veterinary Section as part of each Division that went overseas. A number of Base Veterinary Hospitals were established in the theatres of war. Most animals suffered from battle injuries, debility, exhaustion, mange and, for the first time, gas attacks.

Detail from silver medal, Obstetrics, Session 1917-18

Detail from silver medal, Obstetrics, Session 1917-18

By 1918 almost half of the veterinary surgeons in Great Britain were serving in the AVC. As an Army veterinary surgeon, Rider served until the end of the War and was awarded a pair of medals – the British War medal, and the Victory medal.

Reverse, bronze medal, decorated with thistle wreath surrounding the inscriptions - Pathology. J.R.Rider, Session 1916-17

Reverse, bronze medal, decorated with thistle wreath surrounding the inscriptions – Pathology. J.R.Rider, Session 1916-17

On 27 November 1918 King George V conferred the Royal prefix to the Corps in recognition of the work of the AVC… or RAVC (Royal Army Veterinary Corps).

Reverse, bronze medal, decorated with thistle wreath surrounding the inscriptions - Surgery. J.R.Rider, Session 1917-18

Reverse, bronze medal, decorated with thistle wreath surrounding the inscriptions – Surgery. J.R.Rider, Session 1917-18

From 1919 Rider was employed as a vet by Pease and Partners Ltd. owners of several mines in the coalfields of Durham and Teeside. In 1928 he declined the offer of a Lectureship at the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, only to suffer a cut in working hours the following year due to the Depression which began in 1929. In 1930 however, Rider began his own private practice in Darlington.

Reverse, silver medal, Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, To J.R.Rider, for Senior Anatomy, 1914, Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, Inst. MDCCLXXXIV

Reverse, silver medal, Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, To J.R.Rider, for Senior Anatomy, 1914, Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, Inst. MDCCLXXXIV

In 1932 he published a paper on ‘Hypertrophy and diverticulae in the ileum in pit ponies’ for the Veterinary Record, British Veterinary Association.

Detail, obverse, silver medal, Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, decorated with raised seated classical figure with Scottish armorial shield honouring figures representing agriculture and industry

Detail, obverse, silver medal, Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, decorated with raised seated classical figure with Scottish armorial shield honouring figures representing agriculture and industry

James Roland Rider died of pulmonary tuberculosis in Urpeth, Durham, on 19 November 1942.

Band2

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

Band3

German prisoners in Britain, 1916 – at Donington Hall near Derby, in Dorchester, in Handforth, and at Eastcote

IMAGES FROM A BOOK IN OUR COLLECTIONS ENTITLED GERMAN PRISONERS IN GREAT BRITAIN (published circa 1916 by Tillotson & Son Ltd., Printers, Bolton & London)

1.BandThe photographs in the volume had been taken ‘in response to a request made by the American Ambassador in Berlin’.

Cover of the work 'German prisoners in Great Britain', c.1916. (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Cover of the work ‘German prisoners in Great Britain’, c.1916. (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Apparently they were to ‘form part of the Wurtemberg War Exhibition’ (Württembergische Kriegs-Ausstellung), held in Stuttgart, May-September 1916.

Donington Hall - German officers assembling for roll-call (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Donington Hall – German officers assembling for roll-call (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

The exhibition had been organised by the Württemberg Red Cross, under the auspices of the king and queen of Württemberg and the Royal Württemberg War Ministry. Württemberg at the time retained considerable autonomy within Germany and had its own royal family, with its capital at Stuttgart.

Donington Hall - the dining-hall (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Donington Hall – the dining-hall (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

This fact reflected the complex political structure of Imperial Germany – Württemberg being a kingdom (formerly a duchy) that had become part of the German Empire in 1871.

Donington Hall - one of the dormitories (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Donington Hall – one of the dormitories (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

The foreword to the book claims that ‘the prisoners were left entirely free to choose whether they would be photographed or not’. The text continues:

The photographers had explicit instructions that no prisoner was to be photographed without his content, and that neither compulsion nor persuasion was to be employed to induce anyone to form part of a group

Dorchester Camp - a general view of the site (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Dorchester Camp – a general view of the site (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

The photographs which appeared in the book illustrate 6 of the largest prisoners’ camps in Great Britain: Donington Hall, Alexandra Palace, Dorchester Handforth, Lofthouse Park, and Eastcote.

Dorchester Camp - group of prisoners, some of whom have come from the Somme (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Dorchester Camp – group of prisoners, some of whom have come from the Somme (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Donington Hall is an 18th century  ‘gothic’ house near Derby which had been requisitioned by the War Office of the British government during the Great War for use as a prisoner of war camp.

Dorchester Camp - prisoners and their pet rabbits (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Dorchester Camp – prisoners and their pet rabbits (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

It housed German officers who were waited on and served by their lower military ranks who were billeted in huts in the grounds.

Handforth - Unter-Offiziers' gardens (Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Handforth – Unter-Offiziers’ gardens (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

One of Donington Hall’s celebrated in-mates was the German aviator, aerial explorer, and author, Gunther Plüschow (1886-1931) who had explored and filmed Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego from the air.

Handforth - parcels arriving from home (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Handforth – parcels arriving from home (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

As an imprisoned German naval pilot (May 1915) Plüschow successfully escaped from Donington Hall during a storm (July 1915) and made for the neutral Netherlands.

Handforth - model ship built by Kaiserliche Marine prisoners (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Handforth – model ship built by Kaiserliche Marine prisoners (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Dorchester Camp, Dorset, received its first prisoners of war in August 1914. The camp was set up at the town’s empty artillery barracks at Poundbury. At its height, the camp housed 4,500 men – equivalent to almost half of the town’s resident population.

Eastcote - bakery (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

Eastcote – bakery (from book held at Centre for Research Collections, RB.P.1034)

A print-works in Handforth, near Wilmslow, Cheshire, became a prison camp for Germans with 1,000 housed their by November 1914, and 2,000 by April 1915.

Eastcote prisoner of war camp was in Northamptonshire, and was also known as Pattishall Camp. It would eventually come to house more than 4500 German prisoners of war.

1b.BandDr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

1.BandThis blog-post was created by using the volume itself, and with information found on BBC pages and those of the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum

Home Front – Theatrical group – ‘The Eves’, 1916-1917

AN ALBUM OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND EPHEMERA TELLS THEIR STORY

StripFor the war effort, various Home Front groups and organisations produced entertainments to raise funds for the Red Cross and other organisations. This happened all across the country. One such theatrical group – ‘The Eves’ – performed local entertainments in Perthshire. Rehearsals for ‘The Eves’ theatrical group were held at the home of Helen Wilson at Colquhalzie, or Kilcolquhalzie, in Perthshire.

Under the curation of the Centre for Research Collections, Edinburgh University Library, an album of photographs and ephemera, including concert programmes and news clippings, offers an insight into the performances of ‘The Eves’.

One of 'The Eves'

One of ‘The Eves’ – Helen Wilson, wife of Capt. James R. Wilson (Coll-1668).

Most of the cast of ‘The Eves’ were female and the name of their group was derived from the fact that their husbands, brothers, and fathers (their Adams) were serving in the forces. They offered sketches taken from London musical theatre productions, songs, recitations, choruses and dances. They were accompanied by piano or by the Auchterarder Ladies Orchestra.

Most of the performers were women

Most of ‘The Eves’ performers were women (Coll-1668).

Mrs. Helen Wilson of Colquhalzie was the daughter-in-law of Sir John Wilson (1844-1918) of Airdrie House, businessman, Unionist politician, Chairman of the Wilsons and Clyde Coal Company, and MP for Falkirk Burghs from 1895 to 1906. Her husband, Captain James R. Wilson – Sir John’s son – served with the Lanarkshire Yeomenry in Gallipoli and Egypt.

Sailor suits

Military uniforms and Sailor suits and caps – HMS ‘Victory’ (Coll-1668).

‘Eves’ performances took place at, for example, the local village hall in Muthill, August 1916, in aid of the National Work Party…

'Ehe Eves' to perform at Muthill Hall

‘The Eves’ to perform at Muthill Hall, August 1916 (Coll-1668).

…and other performances were at Porteous Hall, Crieff, September 1916, in aid of the Scottish Red Cross, and at the Pavilion Hall, Glasgow, later in 1916.

Performance at Crieff

Performance to be given at Crieff, September 1916 (Coll-1668).

In the album acquired by Edinburgh University Library, a photographic reproduction of a news clipping from The Strathearn Herald, 26 August 1916, describes the Variety Entertainment at Muthill Hall where ‘the seats were extensively booked throughout Muthill, Crieff and Auchterarder districts’. Indeed, ‘fully half-an-hour before the starting-time […] motor cars began to arrive with front-seat ticket-holders, as well as public vehicles which brought numbers more from populous centres’. The programme opened with Mrs Wilson and a Chorus offering a ‘fine rendering of Ivor Novello’s popular Keep the Homes Fires Burning.

The performance was ‘shown nicely under the special lighting arrangements regulated […] and worked from a dynamo driven by Mrs. Wilson’s private motor outside’.

Performance by 'The Eves' at the Pavilion Theatre Glasgow

Performance by ‘The Eves’ at the Pavilion Theatre Glasgow, November 1916 (Coll-1668).

A Special Matinee at the Pavilion Theatre on 7 November 1916 was held to raise funds to purchase Motor Ambulance Wagons for Glasgow and District. ‘The Eves’ Committee were indebted to the Pavilion Theatre Directors for giving the use of the Theatre, and to Mr. D. Y. Cameron A.R.A. for ‘so graciously having designed the cover’ of the Matinee Programme.

Special matinee programme cover, desinged by D. Y. Cameron A.R.A.

Special matinee programme cover, designed by D. Y. Cameron A.R.A. (Coll-1668).

David Young Cameron (1865-1945) – knighted in 1924 – had been a student of both the Glasgow School of Art and the Edinburgh School of Art.

Detail from Cameron's programme for the Special Matinee performance of 'The Eves'

Detail from Cameron’s programme for the Special Matinee performance of ‘The Eves’ in Glasgow (Coll-1668).

The Special Matinee at the Pavilion Theatre included performances by Mrs. Wilson and her son ‘little Jock Wilson’. With the Chorus she sang ‘Molly, the Marchioness’ from The Country Girl, ‘The girl with the brogue’ from The Arcadians, ‘The flower girl’, and ‘The lads who play the game’. Unaccompanied, and with Miss S. Bulloch Graham she sang ‘The girl with the brogue’ from The Arcadians, and ‘The Middy’ from ‘The Marriage Market’.

More detail from the Cameron work

More detail from the Cameron work (Coll-1668).

Again, the album describes the Pavilion Theatre performances from news clippings. A feature of the charity event was the floral display – on the stage and in the Theatre – and the distribution of 3000 buttonholes. Apparently, one of the highlights ‘was the appearance of little Jock Wilson […] the little fellow presented a bouquet and ran off the stage with as little self-consciousness as if he had been in his nursery’.

Some of 'The Eves'

Some of ‘The Eves’ at one of their performances (Coll-1668).

After their successful appearance in Glasgow, ‘The Eves’ gave a Grand Concert and Variety Entertainment at the Pavilion Theatre, Johnstone, a few weeks later on 7 February 1917.

Some of 'The Eves'

Costumes of ‘The Eves’ (Coll-1668).

This was for a special appeal by the 38th Renfrew Voluntary Aid Detachment for the County of Renfrew Red Cross Fund.

StripDr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

 

 

Maritime difficulties during the First World War – Christian Salvesen & Co.

SINKINGS AND LOSS OF LIFE, SHORTAGES OF SUPPLY, AND REQUISITIONING… DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE FIRM OF CHRISTIAN SALVESEN & CO. DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Diary F42 Armistice TES(2)Contemporary papers within the archive of the general shipping and whaling firm Christian Salvesen & Co. (Coll-36) – based in Leith, Scotland, until the late 20th century – tell of the company’s trials during the First World War. Indeed, diary entries of both Edward Theodore Salvesen (Lord Salvesen) (1857-1942) and a younger brother Theodore Emil Salvesen (1863-1942) record the loss of the Salvesen vessel Glitra which was the first British ship to be sunk through enemy action by a submarine in the opening months of the First World War. Glitra had been sunk by a German submarine on 20 October 1914, just off Skudenes, Rogaland, Norway.

The Salvesen vessel 'Glitra' scuttled by its German captors off Skudenes, Norway 20 October 1914. Gen. Coll-36 (2nd tranche, C1. No.41).

The Salvesen vessel ‘Glitra’ scuttled by its German captors off Skudenes, Norway 20 October 1914. Coll-36 (2nd tranche, C1. No.41).

Glitra had started life as the Saxon Prince at the Swan Hunter yard on the Tyne (Wallsend) where it was launched in 1882. It sailed with the Prince Steam Shipping Co. until 1895 when it was acquired by Christian Salvesen & Co. and renamed Glitra. During a voyage from Grangemouth to Stavanger in Norway, carrying coal, iron plate and oil, the ship was stopped and searched 26 km off Skudenes – just outside neutral Norwegian territorial waters – by the German U-boat U-17 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Johannes Feldkirchner.

Diary entry of Lord Salvesen noting the loss of 'Glitra' in October 1914. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Lord Salvesen, F17).

Diary entry of Lord Salvesen noting the loss of ‘Glitra’ in October 1914. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Lord Salvesen, F17).

No lives were lost during the incident however, as the crew of the Glitra had been ordered into lifeboats . The German sailors then opened the ship’s sea-valves and scuttled it. After U-17 left the scene, the torpedo boat Hai of the Royal Norwegian Navy took the lifeboats under tow to the Norwegian harbour of Skudeneshavn. The same U-boat, U-17, captured and sunk the Salvesen vessel Ailsa just north-east of Bell Rock in the North Sea on 17 June 1915.

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of 'Glitra' in October 1914. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of ‘Glitra’ in October 1914. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

The Glitra incident was recorded in the diaries of both Lord Salvesen and Theodore Emil Salvesen. About the loss, the elder Salvesen brother wrote on Wednesday 21 October 1914, ‘Sad news that Glitra captured by German submarine & sunk’. The younger Salvesen – perhaps still recovering from the bout of bronchitis which he also noted in his diary – wrote his own stark and matter-of-fact entry on Tuesday 20 October, ‘Glitra S/S sunk off Norway’, and about the loss of Ailsa in 1915 his diary entry for Friday 18 June 1915 has ‘Ailsa S/S reported sunk by submarine yesterday off Bell Rock. 40 miles’.

The Salvesen cargo ship 'Coronda' torpedoed by German submarine 'U-81' in the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles off Ireland, 13 March 1917. Coll-36 (2nd tranche, C1. No.41).

The Salvesen cargo ship ‘Coronda’ torpedoed by German submarine ‘U-81’ in the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles off Ireland, 13 March 1917. Coll-36 (2nd tranche, C1. No.41).

Although the scuttling of the Glitra was the first instance of a British merchant vessel being lost to a German submarine, Salvesen would face the loss of several other vessels from its general cargo fleet during the First World War, not least the 2733 ton cargo ship Coronda which was torpedoed by U-81 in the Atlantic Ocean 330 km west of Donegal, Ireland, on 13 March 1917, with the loss of nine lives. Again, the incident was recorded in briefest terms by Theodore Emil Salvesen in his diary, ‘Coronda S/S sunk by torpedo, 200 miles from land, 9 men lost – 6.30am’. The names of some of the lost Salvesen ships – e.g. Glitra, Ailsa and Coronda – would be preserved in newer vessels a few years later.

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of 'Ailsa' in June 1915. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of ‘Ailsa’ in June 1915. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of 'Coronda' in March 1917. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen noting the loss of ‘Coronda’ in March 1917. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

A little earlier, in February 1917, the Salvesen vessel Katherine was captured and sunk by the German merchant raider SMS Möwe . A letter from the Finance Department of the Ministry of Shipping in London to Christian Salvesen & Co. in Leith, dated 21 June 1917, reveals that the Government department was unwilling to accept the claim of £80,000 placed before them by the firm for their loss and sought ‘professional valuation in support’ of the claim. The letter stated that the vessel ‘has been valued by one of the leading men in the country at the sum of £70,000, and the valuation made in this office makes the ship worth very much less than the amount of your claim’. Later, in July 1917, the Ministry of Shipping would offer £75,000 to the firm. In March 1918 there would be further objection from the Ministry over the claim placed by Christian Salvesen & Co. for the loss of the vessel Cadmus which had been torpedoed and sunk off Flamborough Head in October 1917 by the German mine-laying submarine UC-47. The Ministry would eventually agree the sum of £83,000 in full settlement of the firm’s claim for the loss of Cadmus, and in November 1918 the Ministry agreed to pay £40,000 to Salvesen for the loss of the John O. Scott which had been torpedoed and sunk off Trevose Head, Cornwall, in September 1918 by the German mine-laying submarine U-117.

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 21 June 1917, about the firm's claim for the loss of the vessel 'Katherine' through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 21 June 1917, about the firm’s claim for the loss of the vessel ‘Katherine’ through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 10 May 1918, about the firm's claim for the loss of the vessel 'Cadmus' through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 10 May 1918, about the firm’s claim for the loss of the vessel ‘Cadmus’ through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 4 November 1918, about the firm's claim for the loss of the vessel 'John O. Scott' through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 4 November 1918, about the firm’s claim for the loss of the vessel ‘John O. Scott’ through enemy action. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

In spite of the loss of cargo vessel tonnage, the other arm of the company’s business – whaling in the South Atlantic around South Georgia – expanded further to supply much needed whale oil for the home front. The oil was required to make glycerol for the manufacture of nitro-glycerine for explosives. Whale oil was also used for the production of edible fat. To all nations – whaling or non-whaling, belligerent or neutral – the commodity was a vital one. Indeed, recorded in a collection of newspaper-cuttings within the archive of Christian Salvesen & Co. is a small article reporting a protest from Norway over the impounding of Norwegian ships and whale-oil cargo in British ports… clearly breaches of the country’s neutrality by Britain. The article reports how previously the British authorities had notified Norway that they would respect the Norwegian whaling fleet, except in cases where it was believed the cargo was being supplied to Germany. Now however, the article continues, the Norwegian government had received a new message from the British government indicating that it was forced to impound all Norwegian ships with whale-oil cargoes to prevent export to Germany. Some Norwegian ships had already been impounded. The article goes on to remind the British governement of the rights of neutral states such as Norway, Denmark and Sweden to onward transport of cargoes and free navigation.

Article, 'England og hvaloljen', dated 5 January 1915, from Norwegian title (unknown) reporting change in British policy towards Norwegian ships and cargoes. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, News-cutting Album, H27).

Article, ‘England og hvaloljen’, dated 5 January 1915, from Norwegian title (unknown) reporting change in British policy towards Norwegian ships and cargoes. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, News-cutting Album, H27).

To increase whale oil production as the War continued, all regulations around the whaling-industry were relaxed including restrictions on the number of whale-catching vessels. Nevertheless, shortages at home in the northern hemisphere due to the war economy, and loss of the island nation’s valuable imports and exports through enemy action, affected the firm’s activities in the southern hemisphere, and the supply to it of the necessary resources to maintain its operations. Indeed, everything from fuel oils and coal, prefabricated buildings, machine tools, wires and cables, tanks, saws and saw blades, timber and wood products, and food provisions all had to be sourced beyond South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.

Letter from the Ministry of Food, Oils and Fats Section, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 9 July 1917, about the export of tanks. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Food, Oils and Fats Section, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 9 July 1917, about the export of tanks. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

The UK was often unable to supply the resources. On 9 July 1917, the Oils and Fats Section of the Ministry of Food wrote to Christian Salvesen & Co. stating that ‘in view of the very heavy demand for Tanks for Home production’ the Director was ‘unable to see his way to make any recommendation for the export of the tanks’ required. A couple of days later, on 11 July 1917, the same Oils and Fats Section at the Ministry of Food wrote that ‘In view of Home demands for Lead for purposes of National Defence I am instructed to enquire whether it is not possible for you to purchase for your South Georgia Station in some parts of the American Continent?’

Letter from the Ministry of Food, Oils and Fats Section, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 11 July 1917, about lead and the possibility of obtaining the resource from the Americas. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Food, Oils and Fats Section, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 11 July 1917, about lead and the possibility of obtaining the resource from the Americas. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Again, on 19 July 1918, but this time from the Ministry of Munitions of War, came a letter to Christian Salvesen & Co. acknowledging receipt of an application ‘in respect of materials required for an electric lighting installation at the Whaling Station, South Georgia’. With regard to the cabling required, the Ministry wrote that ‘all copper wire of gauge 20 and finer, is required by the Admiralty’.

Letter from the Ministry of Munitions of War, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 19 July 1918, about Admiralty expropriation of copper wire of gauge 20 and finer. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Munitions of War, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 19 July 1918, about Admiralty expropriation of copper wire of gauge 20 and finer. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Although there was a demand for whale-oil throughout the War (for glycerol and the subsequent manufacture of nitro-glycerine for explosives), it is clear that shortages of equipment and government restrictions were making it extremely difficult for the firm to meet the demand. Indeed, plans to increase the number of steam-powered whale-catching vessels operating in the Southern Ocean had to be abandoned.

Extract from the Minutes of a Meeting of Directors (South Georgia Co. Ltd) held Thursday 26 July 1917 in Leith, and during which hiring of additional steam-powered whale-catchers was discussed. Coll-36 (3rd tranche, Minute Book, South Georgia Co. Ltd).

Extract from the Minutes of a Meeting of Directors (South Georgia Co. Ltd) held Thursday 26 July 1917 in Leith, and during which hiring of additional steam-powered whale-catchers was discussed. Coll-36 (3rd tranche, Minute Book, South Georgia Co. Ltd).

At a meeting of Salvesen Directors (The South Georgia Company Ltd) held at the Registered Office in Bernard Street, Leith, on 26 July 1917, it was agreed that in order ‘to do everything possible to increase the production of whale oil during the coming season’ the vessels Granat, Ole Wegger, and Sorka would be hired from Norway, and Blink and Skarphjedinn from Cape Town. In the event, Sorka had to be retained in Norway because of local losses of tonnage, and neither the vessel Blink nor Skarphjedinn could be sent south because restrictions put in place by the Ministry of Shipping meant that the station there could not be provided ‘with the requisite coal and empty barrels which would have been necessary to work up the extra catch of these whaling steamers’.

Extract from the Minutes of a Meeting of Directors (South Georgia Co. Ltd) held Friday 21 June 1918 in Leith, and during which failure to hire additional steam-powered whale-catchers was discussed. Coll-36 (3rd tranche, Minute Book, South Georgia Co. Ltd).

Extract from the Minutes of a Meeting of Directors (South Georgia Co. Ltd) held Friday 21 June 1918 in Leith, and during which failure to hire additional steam-powered whale-catchers was discussed. Coll-36 (3rd tranche, Minute Book, South Georgia Co. Ltd).

Like other shipping firms in ports around the UK, Christian Salvesen & Co. had many of its vessels requisitioned by the Government – and subsequently sunk by the Germans. This of course impacted on its South Georgia operations and its own means of supplying and maintaining these operations. A letter from the Director of Ship Requisitioning at the Transport Department of the Ministry of Shipping in London, dated 26 October 1917, records the firm’s anxieties about requisitioning. The letter in reply states that ‘regarding tonnage for South Georgia, I regret to inform you that while careful consideration has been given to your request the Department cannot see its way to release any of your steamers from requisition’.

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 26 October 1917, about a request for the release of vessels from requisition. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 26 October 1917, about a request for the release of vessels from requisition. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

At 5am on the morning of Monday 11 November 1918 – as noted in the diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen – Germany signed the Armistice agreement, and hostilities were to cease at 11am. The slaughter of the Great War was over.

In January 1919, some two months after the Armistice, the office of the Director of Commercial Services at the Ministry of Shipping wrote to Christian Salvesen & Co. about the firm’s ‘application for the release’ of its steamers from requisition. This matter, wrote the Ministry, ‘will in due course receive consideration’, but ‘no immediate action can be taken in so far as release is concerned’.

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 9 January 1919, about the release of vessels from requisition. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Letter from the Ministry of Shipping, to Christian Salvesen & Co., dated 9 January 1919, about the release of vessels from requisition. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Letter book, A77).

Following the War came Peace and the firm of Christian Salvesen & Co. took advantage of the increased demand – and of course high prices – for ships and sold off a large part of its fleet. This would help keep the company afloat during the years of economic crisis that would come in the late-1920s and into the 1930s.

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen for Monday 11 November 1918, noting the Armistice. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Diary entry of Theodore Emil Salvesen for Monday 11 November 1918, noting the Armistice. Salvesen Archive. Coll-36 (1st tranche, Diaries of Theodore Emil Salvesen, F42).

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

In addition to material in the Archive itself, and on-line maritime wreck sites, the following work was used in the construction of the blogpost: Salvesen of Leith, by Wray Vamplew (Scottish Academic Press: Edinburgh, London, 1975)

Hawick and Roxburghshire, February 1915: On a war footing…

THE HAWICK EXPRESS & ADVERTISER AND ROXBURGHSHIRE GAZETTE, 5 FEBRUARY 1915

Title bannerKnown by other earlier titles, the Hawick Express and Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette would later on become absorbed by the Southern Reporter.

Call for men for the 4th K.O.S.B., reported in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.2.

Call for men for the 4th K.O.S.B., reported in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

In the wider world by Friday 5 February 1915, when this particular issue of the Hawick local paper was distributed, Turkish forces had just reached the Suez Canal after crossing the Sinai Desert and were engaging British troops, the Turkish forces had also recently attacked Aden (now in Yemen), the German government had announced that they would begin a blockade of Britain on 18 February, and the British, French and Russian governments had announced that agreement had been reached on pooling their financial resources.

The war was becoming a truly World War, with Eastern and Western Fronts, and a Middle Eastern theatre of war.

So it was then that on 5 February, the Hawick Express and Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette reported that the 4th King’s Own Scottish Borderers (K.O.S.B.) needed 200 more soldiers. ‘There are hundreds of Young Men on the Borders who have not yet answered the call’, the notice stated.

Further report about the Call for men for the 4th K.O.S.B., p.3.

Further report about the Call for men for the 4th K.O.S.B., p.3. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The newspaper also carried an advertisement for recruits to a new so-called ‘bantam’ battalion sponsored by Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian. Such battalions were for potential soldiers of below the British Army’s minimum regulation height. The advertisement asked for men aged 18-38 ‘of good physique […] willing, if accepted, to defend their Homes or to march to Berlin’. The ‘Rosebery Bantam Battalion’ was raised in Edinburgh and would move to France in December 1916 serving on the Western Front for the remainder of the war.

Advertisement for a battalion sponsored by the Earl of Rosebery, printed in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1.

Advertisement for a battalion sponsored by the Earl of Rosebery, printed in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

Once the men, be they the men of the ‘Rosebery Bantam Battalion’ or those of the 4th K.O.SB. were at the front – or billeted in the region, or recovering in hospitals and nursing homes across the country – they could look forward to the ‘comforts for the soldiers’ collected by private individuals as this notice in the Hawick Express and Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette shows. Readers were asked to send a postcard if they wanted sheets, pillow-cases, vests, games and music to be collected for the soldiers.

Advertisement calling for items for serving soldiers, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement calling for items for serving soldiers, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The newspaper, like other local and national titles across the country carried advertisements for appropriate clothing for the Front and other theatres of war… for officers at least !

Burberry advertisement, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

‘Burberry’ advertisement, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The ‘Burberry’ War Kit was ‘a safeguard against rain, snow and frost, in the trenches or or on the march’. British warm ‘Burberry’ came in ‘Lined Fleece or Fur, Khaki Serge or Gabardine’.

'Burberry' advertisement, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

‘Burberry’ advertisement, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.2. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

A short notice service Kit came with ‘Tunics, Slacks, Knickerbreeches, Great Coats and British Warms ready to try on’.

The newspaper provides us with a reflection of the Home Front too…

Readers of the Hawick Express and Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette could look forward to a weekend serial; the ‘splendid war serial’ entitled The Day or, the Passing of a throne by Fred M. White (this was Frederick Merrick White 1859-1935, pioneer of the spy story).

Serialised story, 'The Day' in the the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Serialised story, ‘The Day’ in the the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The story featured, among other characters, ‘one of the chiefs of the British Secret Service’, his chief assistant who was the ‘inventor of a wonderful new aeroplane’, and ‘a native of Alsace’ who was in reality ‘in the service of the Democratic Federation of Germany enthusiastic over the formation of a German Republic’.

Notice about pubs, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.3. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Notice about pubs, and restrictions on soldiers, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.3. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

For soldiers billeted in Hawick and elsewhere in the Borders, pubs were ‘out of bounds’ to them except between the hours of 6 o’clock and 8 o’clock at night.

Advertisement for secretarial posts and examinations for them, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.3. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement for secretarial posts and examinations for them, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.3. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The newspaper shows us how life was beginning to change for women too, with prospects looking good for employment in the commercial and industrial world in 1915. A College in Edinburgh announced examinations that were to be held for Civil Service posts ‘For Girls Ages 14-20’. The College claimed that there would be ‘an unprecedented demand for assistants’. The time was therefore right ‘for young people to secure a Government Post’.

Then as now, the newspaper also carried advertisements for remedies, not least this ‘Best Remedy Known for Coughs, Colds, Asthma, and Bronchitis’, and which ‘Effectually cuts short attacks of Spasms, Hysteria, and Palpitation’:

Advertisement for 'Chlorodyne' in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement for ‘Chlorodyne’ in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

And there were advertisements for escapes as well… often to North America… with passages from Glasgow to Quebec and Montreal, or to New Brunswick, from £10 upwards in Second Class. The Donaldson Line boasted that the steamers were ‘fitted with Marconi Wireless Telegraph’.

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The Anchor Line too though it worth mentioning that its steamers sailing from Glasgow to New York were fitted with ‘Marconi Wireless Telegraphy’.

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

The Allan Line sought to get ahead of the game (maybe) by advertising that they had ‘Matrons for unaccompanied young women’.

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the 'Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette' on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-).

Advertisement for passages to North America, in the ‘Hawick Express & Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette’ on p.1. (Sarolea Collection 80, Coll-15).

News out in the wider world of the announcement by the German government that they would begin a blockade of Britain on 18 February 1915 should have warned of the fate awaiting coastal merchant and transatlantic shipping. In May 1915 the Cunard vessel R.M.S. Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine just 18 km off the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse (Co. Cork, Ireland) a few hours from its scheduled arrival time in Liverpool.

The Donaldson Line vessel Athenia would meet the same fate in 1917, as would the Anchor Line vessels Cameronia (sunk 1917), Tuscania (sunk 1918) and Ausonia (also sunk 1918). All of those vessels had been listed in the February newspaper ads.

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

(This issue of the Hawick Express and Advertiser and Roxburghshire Gazette lies in Sarolea Collection 80, ‘Belgian Relief 1914-18, Correspondence and other papers’, Coll-15.)

William Hunter (1861-1937) & the Order of St. Sava

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS SERVED IN SERBIA IN CHARGE OF A MEDICAL MISSION AND EARNED THE ORDER OF ST. SAVA, ONE OF SERBIA’S HIGHEST HONOURS

BannerDuring the First World War, and just shy of 100-years ago in June 1915, Colonel Sir William Hunter, an Edinburgh University alumnus, was appointed as a Grand Officer of the Serbian Order of St. Sava.

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - medallion/badge with ribbon. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Medallion/badge with ribbon. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

Hunter had been serving in Serbia with the British Military Sanitary Mission and there he developed de-lousing techniques to control typhus. In Serbia he was associated with the  use of the ‘Serbian barrel’ for disinfection and the eradication of lice.

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - detail. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Detail. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

William Hunter was born on 1 June 1861 in Ballantrae on the Ayrshire coast. He was educated at Ayr Academy, and then studied Medicine at Edinburgh University, graduating in 1883 with M.B., C.M. (1st Class) 1883, and M.D. (Gold Medal) 1886. He served as a house physician at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, and as a Physican to the Western Dispensary, Edinburgh. He had also studied overseas at Leipzig in 1884 with a grant from the British Medical Association, and during the period 1887-1890 he visited Vienna and Strasbourg.

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - Breast Star. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Breast Star. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

Also during 1887-1890 Hunter worked full time on laboratory research at Cambridge, devoting himself to pernicious anaemia. He was the first person to note that the alimentary and the nervous system were often affected in this disorder. From 1895, Hunter was affiliated with the Charing Cross Hospital and the London Fever Hospital. Earlier, in 1894, he married Beatrice Fielden, daughter of Joshua Fielden MP.

BannerAlong with Julius Otto Ludwig Moeller (1819-1887), a German Professor of Medicine and Surgery from Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), he is associated with ‘Hunter’s glossitis’ caused by B12 or folic acid deficiency (‘Moeller-Hunter glossitis’).

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - Detail, with wording in older cyrillic letters 'One's own work achieves all'. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Detail, with wording in older cyrillic letters ‘One’s own work achieves all’. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

As far as wartime Serbia is concerned however, the country had been ravaged by a disastrous epidemic of typhus lasting from November 1914 to March 1915. Indeed, it was estimated that around 500,000 people were affected by the disease, and of these some 150,000 died, along with 30,000 Austrian prisoners-of-war. Many physicians also lost their lives. An appeal was made by the Serbian government to the British Foreign Office for a mission of doctors, and Hunter who was senior physician at the London Fever Hospital at the time was given the task of building a team. In his role as Colonel in charge of the British Military Sanitary Mission in early-1915, Hunter put into place preventive measures, but the most successful treatment was achieved after steam dis-infestation using improvised tin barrels – the so-called ‘Serbian Barrel’.
BannerIn addition to the honour of his appointment as a Grand Officer of the Serbian Order of St. Sava for medical services to Serbia, in January 1916 Hunter was mentioned in Dispatches (Dardanelles) and was awarded the Companion Order of the Bath (CB). He went on to become President of the Advisory Committee, Prevention of Disease, in the Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia (Gallipoli, Egypt, Salonika, Malta and Palestine), and he served with the Eastern Command, 1917-1919, as Consulting Physician. He continued to hold the rank of Colonel.
The Serbian Order of St. Sava - Detail, oval enamelled portrait of the Prince Bishop St. Sava (Rastko Nemanjić). Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Detail, oval enamelled portrait of the Prince Bishop St. Sava (Rastko Nemanjić). Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

St. Sava is most important saint of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the patron saint of Serbia. The Order of St. Sava was a decoration instituted by the Serbian King, Milan I (1854-1901), in 1883. The Order was established to recognize civilians for meritorious achievements to the Church, to arts and sciences, the royal house and the state. In 1914 a change was made permitting military personnel to receive the honour for military merit. After the ending of the First World War, the Order of St Sava was awarded by the king of then-Yugoslavia until the abolishment of the monarchy in 1945 (Serbia had been a part of the Kingdom then Republic of Yugoslavia between 1918 and the early 1990s).

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - Detail. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Detail, Serbian Eagle and Cross. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

Five grades of the Order of St. Sava were awarded: Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight. Other very varied recipients of the Order were Nikola Tesla (electrical engineer, physicist 1856-1943), Peter Norman Nissen (mining engineer, developer of pre-fab’ shelter 1871-1930) and Helen Keller (author, political activist, lecturer 1880-1968).

BannerHunter’s published work includes: Oral sepsis as a cause of ‘Septic gastritis’, ‘Toxic neuritis’ and other septic conditions (1901); Pernicious anaemia: its pathology, septic origin, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Based upon original investigations (1901); A research into epidemic and epizootic plague (1904); Severest anaemias. Their infective nature, diagnosis and treatment (1909); Historical account of Charing Cross hospital and medical school (University of London): original plan and statutes, rise and progress (1914); and, The Serbian epidemics of typhus and relapsing fever in 1915: Their Origin, Course, and Preventive Measures employed for their Arrest  (1920).

The Serbian Order of St. Sava - Medallion/badge with ribbon. Coll-1146 - Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

The Serbian Order of St. Sava – Medallion/badge with ribbon. Coll-1146 – Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter

William Hunter was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP London 1896) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE).

Letter from William Hunter acknowledging the award of Hon. LLD. to be conferred on him by Edinburgh University. EUA INI/ADS/STA/15 1914-1930. Acceptances of Honorary Degrees

Letter from William Hunter acknowledging the award of Hon. LLD. to be conferred on him by Edinburgh University. EUA INI/ADS/STA/15 1914-1930. Acceptances of Honorary Degrees

In 1927 he was awarded an Honorary LL.D. by Edinburgh University, and acknowledging the notification of award in a letter dated 8 June 1927, Hunter offers his ‘most grateful appreciation […] of the great honour’ his alma mater has conferred on him.

Letter from William Hunter acknowledging the award of Hon. LLD. to be conferred on him by Edinburgh University. EUA INI/ADS/STA/15 1914-1930. Acceptances of Honorary Degrees

Letter from William Hunter acknowledging the award of Hon. LLD. to be conferred on him by Edinburgh University. EUA INI/ADS/STA/15 1914-1930. Acceptances of Honorary Degrees

The letter goes on: ‘It will be a great pleasure to me to be at the Graduation on July 20th’.

Colonel Sir William Hunter died on 13 January 1937.

BannerDr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

Sources used included online medal sites, and: (1) University of Edinburgh. Roll of Honour 1914-1919. p.383, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1921 (2) Serbia under typhus in 1915. p.219. The British Journal of Nursing. 10 April 1920 (3) Bosiljka M. Lalević-Vasić. History of dermatology and venereology in Serbia – part III/2 ; Dermatovenereology in Serbia from 1881-1918. p.162. Serbian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology 2009 (4), pp.159-165

George McDonald Sutherland (1886-1917), architect

GEORGE MCDONALD SUTHERLAND AND HIS LOST ‘YEARS TO BE’… THE STORY OF A ROBBED CAREER.

George McDonald Sutherland, from a photograph loaned and reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland, from a photograph loeaned and reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

In his 1914 sonnets (III. The Dead), the war poet Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) wrote of the fallen, the dead, as having given up

‘…the years to be… Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene… That men call age…’.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Brooke’s words make us think about the working lives and the achievements, and possible greatness that the dead of the First World War – and other wars – would never reach or know. They ‘had seen movement and heard music, known slumber and waking […] Felt the quick stir of wonder […] touched flowers and furs and cheeks’ (Brooke 1914 sonnets. IV. The Dead). They had begun their careers and to make their mark on the world, and, continuing with the Brooke theme – but thinking about the story of George McDonald Sutherland told below – they had smelt sharpened wood pencil, and felt cold, raw mason’s stone.

George McDonald Sutherland (right) with his brothers David (left) and Norman (middle). From a photograph loaned and reproduced with the kind permission of their great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland (right) with his brothers David (left) and Norman (middle). From a photograph loaned and reproduced with the kind permission of their great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland was born in 1886, the son of George P. Sutherland and Helen Sutherland of Galashiels in Selkirkshire. His father, who served as an apprentice sculptor in Edinburgh, London and New York, went on to found the firm of George Sutherland & Sons (Galashiels), Sculptors and Monumental Masons, in 1881. The firm operated throughout the Borders, and the carvings on the local Galashiels Post Office building were created by the elder Sutherland in 1886, the year of his son’s birth.

Detail from an oak bench drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in July 1904, during his apprenticeship. Coll-1319.

Detail from an oak bench drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in July 1904, during his apprenticeship. Coll-1319.

Detail from an oak bench drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in July 1904, during his apprenticeship. Coll-1319.

Detail from an oak bench drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in July 1904, during his apprenticeship. Coll-1319.

At the age of seventeen, in 1903, following in his father’s footsteps, the younger George McDonald Sutherland was apprenticed to the architectural practice of Robert Lorimer (1864-1929), later Sir Robert Lorimer, of Edinburgh. After his apprenticeship and after he had become an architect himself, George McDonald Sutherland went to Toronto, Canada, to start an architectural business and bought land there too.

Caroline Park gates, Granton, Edinburgh, drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Caroline Park gates, Granton, Edinburgh, drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

On the outbreak of war in 1914, George McDonald Sutherland wanted to come back to Scotland and fight, although the family tried to dissuade him. Nevertheless he did return – like many other Scottish Canadians – and joined the 4th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers and Lothians and Borders Horse.

George McDonald Sutherland in uniform. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland in uniform. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland in uniform. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

George McDonald Sutherland in uniform. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of his great-niece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the age of 31, 2nd Lieutenant George McDonald Sutherland, by then of the 7th/8th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, was killed at Arras, France, on 9 April 1917 at the start of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras), of which the Battle of Vimy Ridge formed a part.

Architectural detail from Melrose Abbey, drawn by George MacDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural detail from Melrose Abbey, drawn by George MacDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

From 9 April, the day of George’s death, until 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, South African, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German defences near this French city on the Western Front. While there were major gains on the first day – when George was killed – these were followed by stalemate. The battle cost nearly 160,000 British casualties and about 125,000 German casualties.

George McDonald Sutherland noted in the Roll-of-Honour in the work 'War record of 4th Bn. King's Own Scottish Borderers and Lothian and Border Horse : with history of the T.F. Associations of the counties of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk', published in 1920. Edinburgh University Library general collections.  D546.5.4th War. (2nd Floor).

George McDonald Sutherland noted in the Roll-of-Honour in the work ‘War record of 4th Bn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers and Lothian and Border Horse : with history of the T.F. Associations of the counties of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk’, published in 1920. Edinburgh University Library general collections. D546.5.4th War. (2nd Floor).

George was buried in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, at Souchez, in the Pas de Calais department of northern France, about 3.5 kilometres north of Arras – a cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWCG).

From a drawing of urns done by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

From a drawing of urns done by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Drawing of urns done by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319

Drawing of urns done by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319

Back home in Galashiels, in the Borders, the family firm of Sculptors and Monumental Masons continued to operate over several decades, with war memorials and grave stones comprising a large part of the business, and with George’s brother Norman running the Hawick office of the firm.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Indeed, the carved ‘Angel of Peace’ on the Galashiels war memorial at the Burgh Chambers – unveiled by Field-Marshal Earl Haig in 1925 – was the work of another of George’s brothers, sculptor David Sutherland (1884-1962), who saw military service in Salonika, Batumi and Baku.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Because the ‘Angel’ on the Galashiels memorial had been carved leaning slightly forward and with its head dipped, light shining from the side creates shadows giving the effect of Angel’s wings above the statue (though, regrettably, modern street-lighting obscures the effect).

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

It seems fitting though that George McDonald Sutherland’s name is inscribed on the Roll of Honour in Galashiels displaying an Angel carved by his brother on the Burgh Chambers designed by the very architect who trained him – Sir Robert Lorimer.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural mouldings drawn by George McDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

George Sutherland & Son of Galashiels purchased a Tweedmouth monumental mason’s yard which was to have been run by a younger member of the Sutherland family. However, before he could take over the yard, Lt. John McDonald Sutherland (Cameron Highlanders), a signaller, was killed on 28 March 1945 during the push over the River Rhine.

The wrought-iron gates to dining hall at St. John's College, Oxford, drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in 1910. Coll-1319.

The wrought-iron gates to dining hall at St. John’s College, Oxford, drawn by George McDonald Sutherland in 1910. Coll-1319.

Although his ‘years to be of work and joy’ were stolen from him and we could never see the mature product of his working life, in 2011 a collection of original architect’s drawings by George McDonald Sutherland was kindly donated to Edinburgh University Library, Centre for Research Collections, by a great-niece living in Surrey, England. These allow us to see the talent of his early years in architecture. Parts of these drawings illustrate this blog-post honouring George McDonald Sutherland (1886-1917). Younger members of the family of George McDonald Sutherland’s great-niece are on their way to following career paths in architecture too.

Architectural detail from Melrose Abbey, drawn by George MacDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

Architectural detail from Melrose Abbey, drawn by George MacDonald Sutherland. Coll-1319.

But… back to Brooke and to the 1914 sonnet IV. The Dead… and to the life, career and ambitions of George McDonald Sutherland… the dead of the First World War and other wars…

‘All this is ended […] And after, Frost, with a gesture, stays the waves that dance ‘.

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

Charles Sarolea and his relief effort for Belgium during the War

RELIEF FOR BELGIUM… OFFERS OF AID FROM ALL OVER SCOTLAND

Belgium's heroism

If we are to let our collections talk about the First World War, then surely the story of Charles Sarolea (1870-1953) and his efforts to aid the people of war-ruined Belgium has to be told. His wartime story emerges from the files, folders and boxes of the very large Sarolea Collection of writings and correspondence (Coll-15, Centre for Research Collections). Sarolea’s aid effort continued from the opening days of the assault on Belgium until the last months and days of the War.

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Wartime propaganda… National personification of Belgium… Mother Belgium or ‘Belgica’… ‘La Belgique’… ‘La Belge’… on a Scottish booklet published by the Belgian Relief Fund. From file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15

Who was Charles Sarolea? Charles Sarolea was born on 25 October 1870 in Tongeren (Tongres) in the Belgian province of Limburg. He was educated at the Royal Atheneum in nearby Hasselt before going on to the University of Liege where he was awarded first class honours in Classics and Philosophy. In 1892 he was given a Belgian Government travelling scholarship, and between 1892 and 1894 he studied in Paris, Palermo and Naples. Still in his early 20s he became private secretary and literary adviser to Hubert Joseph Walthère Frère-Orban (1812-1896) who had been Prime Minister of Belgium (Liberal Party) between 1878 and 1884. This task brought Sarolea early initiation into wide circles of international affairs, both political and cultural. Indeed later, the Belgian Royal Family would be counted among his circle.

Belgium-Scotland flash

In 1894, at the age of 24, Charles Sarolea became the first holder of the newly-founded Lectureship in French Language and Literature and Romance Philology at Edinburgh University, and in 1918 he would become the first Professor of French when that Chair was established at the University. He held a post and Chair at the University for some 37-years, 1894-1931. From 1901, Sarolea was also the Belgian Consul in Edinburgh.

Photograph in 'Dr. Charles Sarolea author, lecturer, cosmopolitan' in the file entitled 'Biographical and bibliographical material relating to C. Sarolea', in Sarolea Collection 222, Coll-15.

Photograph in Dr. Charles Sarolea author, lecturer, cosmopolitan in the file entitled ‘Biographical and bibliographical material relating to C. Sarolea’, in Sarolea Collection 223, Coll-15.

From 1891 until the outbreak of War in August 1914, Sarolea had written books on a wide range of international affairs and topics, including: Henrik Ibsen (1891); Essais de philosophie et de literature (1898); Les belges au Congo (1899); A Short History of the Anti-Congo Campaign (1905); The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution (1906); Newman’s Theology (1908); The Anglo-German Problem (1912); and, Count L.N. Tolstoy. His life and work (1912). From 1912 until 1917, he was also Editor of the Everyman magazine published by J. M. Dent – the magazine which features prominently in our story about Belgium.

'Everyman', edited by Charles Sarolea 1912-1917.

Everyman, edited by Charles Sarolea 1912-1917.

Many other resources elsewhere can tell the in-depth military and strategic story of Belgium’s stubborn resistance during the early days of the War, but a brief foray into the Belgian experience can do no harm here in a phrase or two. Basically… the Belgian army – around a tenth the size of the German army – managed to frustrate the infamous Schlieffen Plan to capture Paris, and held up the German offensive for nearly a month giving the French and British forces time to prepare for a counter-offensive on the Marne.

The Special Belgium issue of ‘Everyman’, November 1914, contained pictures of the war-spoiled country. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

The Special Belgium issue of Everyman, November 1914, contained pictures of the war-spoiled country. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

The Special Belgium issue of ‘Everyman’, November 1914, contained pictures of the war-spoiled country. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

The Special Belgium issue of Everyman, November 1914, contained pictures of the war-spoiled country. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this opening phase of the War, many hundreds of civilian Belgians were killed, many thousands of homes were destroyed, and nearly 20% of the population escaped from the invading German army.

Destroyed house in Malines-Mechelen in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium. From an envelope of 'Miss Findlay's photographs', in the file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916', Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Destroyed house in Malines (Mechelen) in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium. From an envelope of ‘Miss Findlay’s photographs’, in the file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916′, Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Goodwill towards Belgian refugees and those Belgians remaining in the country was shown right across the UK, not least in the form of the Belgium Relief Fund launched by The Times, the National Committee for Relief in Belgium, and the Belgian Orphan Fund.

Circular advertising the 'Everyman Belgian Relief and Reconstruction Fund'. From a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Circular advertising the ‘Everyman Belgian Relief and Reconstruction Fund’. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Also, from the very outset of War in August 1914, the Everyman magazine had established its own Belgian Relief and Reconstruction Fund and this was administered by the Charles Sarolea, the Belgian Consul, in Edinburgh, assisted by a Committee.

Collection envelopes issued by the National Committee for Relief in Belgium. The design showing a mother and child was by Louis Raemaekers. From a file entitled 'Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919', in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Collection envelopes issued by the National Committee for Relief in Belgium. The design showing a mother and child was by Louis Raemaekers. From a file entitled ‘Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919’, in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Goodwill was also registered across Scotland where a National Appeal for Belgium was opened, as this item from the Sarolea Collection shows (from file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15). The pamphlet issued by the National Appeal provided a summary of the work undertaken in Scotland where the number of Belgian refugees registered in the country in December 1915 was 13,307.
Scotland's_National_Appeal1Scotland's_National_Appeal2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fact that the Editor of Everyman was of Belgian origin and that he was the Belgian Consul in the capital of Scotland enabled him to be in close touch with events as they unfolded in Belgium and with the conditions of the civilian population. On 13 October 1914, as the British and French troops tried to outflank the German army – and thus establish the general shape of the Front from the Channel coast to the border with Switzerland for the next four years – Sarolea was informed by the Consul General in London (Edouard Pollet) that the legitimate Belgian government had left Ostend in Belgium for the safety of Le Havre, France.

Letter from the Belgian Embassy in London to Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate in Edinburgh indicating the removal of the Belgian government to Le Havre, France. From a file entitled 'Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919', in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Letter from the Belgian Embassy in London to Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate in Edinburgh indicating the removal of the Belgian government to Le Havre, France. From a file entitled ‘Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919’, in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

As for Belgian Relief… Sarolea and the Belgian Consulate in Edinburgh received money and requests for collecting boxes and other means of formalising the collection of funds. From all across Scotland, the Consulate also received offers of hospitality and requests for cooks, kitchen-maids, laundry-workers, nursery-maids, tutors, knitter-mechanics, sewing-maids, gardeners, grooms, house-maids and other domestic servants, and ploughmen and other agricultural workers – jobs for Belgian refugees.

Belgium-Scotland flash

A list of ‘Offers of Hospitality received at the Belgian Consulate, Edinburgh’ in the file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 76, notified the following generous offers…: From Eyemouth came the offer for a ‘Lad as boots in hotel, permanent’, with ‘Food, travelling clothes, all offered, and 2/6 a week and all tips, say 7/6 per week’ (2/6 was one-eighth of £1 in the old currency). From North Berwick came the offer of a post as ‘Domestic servant £18, with child £12’, and from Dunblane ‘two bed-rooms, each with double beds, for superior refugees, to live with family’, and the same household would also take ‘two Belgian servants to do work and receive wages’.

 

Offer of help received by Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate, Edinburgh. From a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916', in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Offer of help received by Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate, Edinburgh. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Offer of help received by Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate, Edinburgh. From a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916', in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Offer of help received by Sarolea at the Belgian Consulate, Edinburgh. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A household in Fife offered a placement for a ‘Mother and daughter (past school age) or two sisters as servants’, and the offer extended to ‘£24 for the two and help with their wardrobe’. From Peterhead came the offer to take ‘One little girl for an indefinite period’ and the girl could be taken ‘at once’. And, from the Kinnordy Estate, Kirriemuir came the offer of ‘Two houses’ for up to 44 ‘Cultivated and scientific people’ and this could include work.

Letter with contribution to the Fund from someone who 'deeply feels for brave little Belgium' and who had visited Dinant a few years earlier. Dinant had been severely damaged in the first months of the war. From a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Letter with contribution to the Fund from someone who ‘deeply feels for brave little Belgium’ and who had visited Dinant a few years earlier. Dinant had been severely damaged in the first months of the war. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Many letters from children were received with money raised in various ways – such as selling flowers from the garden or making pictures made from postage stamps – as these letters show here:

letter from a child in Balerno, 1914. In packet/envelope 'Letters from children for possible publication' in the file 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916'. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Letter from children in Balerno, 1914. In packet/envelope ‘Letters from children for possible publication’ in the file ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916′. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Letter from a child in Balerno, 1914. In packet/envelope 'Letters from children for possible publication' in the file 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916'. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Second page of the letter. In packet/envelope ‘Letters from children for possible publication’ in the file ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916′. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture of 'La Belge' by a 14-year old girl from Edinburgh, and made from postage stamps, 1914. In the file 'Letters from children for possible publication' in the file 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916'. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Picture of ‘La Belge’ by a 14-year old girl from Edinburgh, and made from postage stamps, 1914. In the file ‘Letters from children for possible publication’ in the file ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund, 1914-1916′. Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Soldiers too benefited from the charitable-giving fostered by the relief effort centred on the Belgian Consulate in Edinburgh. In 1917 an appeal was raised on behalf of Belgian soldiers ‘spending their hard-earned leave in the Edinburgh district’. In a letter from the ‘Edinburgh Consular Belgian Relief Fund’ to the Editor of the Scotsman in October 1917, it was pointed out that the pay of a Belgian soldier was only just over 2d per day (around 50p at today’s levels) and that a soldier could not afford maintenance expenses while in Edinburgh. The Fund made an appeal asking for help from ‘citizens of Edinburgh who would be willing to give those soldiers hospitality or to pay for their maintenance whilst on leave’. The Fund was sure that Edinburgh’s people would help ‘those brave Belgian lads’.

Draft letter to the 'Scotsman', 3 October 1917, requesting help from the people of Edinburgh for Belgian soldiers on leave in the city. From the file 'Edinburgh Consular Relief Fund 1916-1918. Correspondence', in the wider file 'Everyman & Edinburgh Consular Belgian Relief Funds. Correspondence & figures, 1914-1918'. Sarolea Collection 78, Coll-15.

Draft letter to the ‘Scotsman’, 3 October 1917, requesting help from the people of Edinburgh for Belgian soldiers on leave in the city. From the file ‘Edinburgh Consular Relief Fund 1916-1918. Correspondence’, in the wider file ‘Everyman & Edinburgh Consular Belgian Relief Funds. Correspondence & figures, 1914-1918′. Sarolea Collection 78, Coll-15.

In November 1914, Sarolea issued a Special Belgium number of the magazine, Everyman. Illustrated with Albert I, King of the Belgians, on the front cover, the issue was seen as a ‘means of making a wider appeal to the sympathy and generosity’ of readers. Sarolea claimed that from the start of the assault on Belgium in August 1914 until the Special Belgium issue, the magazine’s ‘efforts have resulted in the raising for the relief of Belgian distress and the reconstruction of Belgian prosperity the substantial sum of thirty-one thousand pounds (£31,000)’ – a colossal sum 100 years ago, the equivalent of £3-million today. Until the Everyman effort, no weekly magazine ‘has ever raised anything like so large a sum for the public cause’.

Front cover of 'Everyman', November 1914. From a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Front cover of Everyman, November 1914. From a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

The Special Belgium issue was filled with articles and photographs, with many of these describing and illustrating the destruction and suffering experienced by Belgians.

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Like many contemporary journals, the Everyman Special Belgium issue contained patriotic advertisements for household shopping – drinks and sweets.

Everyman_ad-for_Robinsons

Everyman_ad-for_Toffees

In addition to papers and correspondence specifically concerning the ‘Everyman Belgian Relief and Reconstruction Fund’ within the expansive Sarolea Collection, the files also contain ephemera produced by other charitable efforts. One piece is a copy of a drawing produced by Louis Raemaekers (1869-1956) the Dutch painter and editorial cartoonist for De Telegraaf, the Amsterdam daily newspaper. His drawing was used by the Belgian Orphan Fund which encouraged the contribution of sixpence to ‘Save that Child!’

Drawing by Louis Raemaekers and used by the Belgian Orphan Fund. From a file entitled 'Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919', in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Drawing by Louis Raemaekers and used by the Belgian Orphan Fund. From a file entitled ‘Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919’, in Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Even in November 1914, those behind the Special Belgium issue of Everyman were looking ahead to the end of the War which many believed would be of short duration. A piece by the Belgian-British Reconstruction League talked of the ‘tremendous task’ ahead. ‘A whole country will have to be reclaimed from devastation. A whole people will have to be repatriated and resettled’. As the War ground on though, Sarolea travelled extensively during 1914 and 1916 – across France and to Switzerland and Italy – as his passport shows.

Passport issued in December 1914 to Charles Sarolea, naturalised British subject of Belgian origin, travelling to France... but not vaild for travel in Army zones. In the file entitled 'C.S. personal documents, Passport etc'. Sarolea Collection 222, Coll-15.

Passport issued in December 1914 to Charles Sarolea, naturalised British subject of Belgian origin, travelling to France… but not valid for travel in Army zones. In the file entitled ‘C.S. personal documents, Passport etc’. Sarolea Collection 222, Coll-15.

The ‘Everyman Belgian Relief and Reconstruction Fund’ was wound up towards the end of 1917, and real reconstruction across Belgium would be well underway by the early 1920s. By the end of the war, some 200,000 Belgians had sought refuge across the UK – 17,000 in the Glasgow area alone – and around £6-million to £7-million had been contributed to all of the Belgian charities (circa £400-million today), and these figures were used by Sarolea in his defensive ‘open letter’ to an English correspondent who had criticised the effort.

Sarolea defended charitable giving to Belgians in 'open letter' written in May 1917. From the file 'Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919'. Sarolea Collection 76, Coll-15.

Sarolea defended charitable giving to Belgians in this ‘open letter’ written in May 1917. From the file ‘Belgian Consular Correspondence, 1915-1919’. Sarolea Collection 73, Coll-15.

Immediately after the War, in March 1919, in Edinburgh, Charles Sarolea was presented with an illuminated scroll by grateful Belgians honouring his wartime work for aid to Belgium. Heading the signatures on the scroll was that of the Rev. O. M. Couttenier a Belgian priest in Edinburgh.

Scroll presented to Charles Sarolea by grateful Belgians. Sarolea Collection 222, Coll-15.

Scroll presented to Charles Sarolea by grateful Belgians. Sarolea Collection 222, Coll-15.

Professor Charles Sarolea resigned his Chair in 1931 but continued to reside in Edinburgh and remained as Belgian Consul in the city until his death in 1953. In 1954, his papers and correspondence were purchased for Edinburgh University Library.

Detail from the front cover of 'Everyman', November 1914. In a file entitled 'Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Detail from the front cover of Everyman, November 1914. In a file entitled ‘Everyman Belgian Relief Fund 1914-1916′, in Sarolea Collection 77, Coll-15.

Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, Centre for Research Collections

Belgium-Scotland flash